Burke named Big Ten's top player

Trey Burke picked up his expected Big Ten awards on Monday.

To the surprise of many, Tim Hardaway Jr. was right there with him.

Burke was named the conference's Player of the Year, and was a unanimous choice for both the coaches' and media's All-Conference First Team. Hardaway also made the coaches' First Team, but was only a Second Team pick by the media.

Burke was joined by Indiana's Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller, Ohio State's DeShaun Thomas on both groups' First-Team selections, while Ohio State's Aaron Craft replaced Hardaway on the media's First Team.

Burke averaged 19.2 points and 6.8 assists as a sophomore, and was the only player to score at least 15 points in all 18 Big Ten games. He and Oladipo are considered the leading candidates for the national player of the year awards, so Burke's victory on Monday night might be a sign of bigger awards to come.

Michigan State's Gary Harris was named the conference Freshman of the Year by both groups, and was named to the coaches' Second Team, along with teammates Adreian Payne and Keith Appling.

Harris was joined by Michigan's Glenn Robinson III on the conference's All-Freshman team, while another Wolverine, Jordan Morgan, made the All-Defensive team.